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Rekids, Records, Rekids...

London record labels intimidate me to no end. Hell, London music collectors intimidate me to no end as well! The whole business of records― producing, releasing, distributing, buying, collecting―throws me off over there because of its seriousness, its severity. That's not to say that American labels can't be just as intense as British ones, but for some reason, I get especially fidgety when the conversation makes the leap across the pond. Maybe this somewhat irrational fear is based more in ignorance than anything else.

Rekids, a London-based company, has been pumping out 12" after 12" since their 2006 debut dance hit, "My Bleep," by Radio Slave. The bulk of the stuff they put out is by five or six masthead roster members that I honestly don't care for all that much as they've a penchant for producing rather aggressive techno that I can only listen to for so long. (They also put out tunes by my New York buddies Runaway, though, so they're not all heavy-handed rave-ready material.) Luke Solomon is probably my favorite regular. In December of 2007 he dropped The Difference Machine, a glistening example of minimal techno with a funky, creative twist. The below two songs come from that LP, actually, although I pulled them from the Rekids Revolution compilation that came out a few months back. "Martin, A Cello & Me" is a wonderful jam that, yes, incorporates a cello, while "Spirits" is a more progressive fist-pumper that has been reworked by Prins Thomas here. Enjoy both!